Bicycle crank-shaft.



Patented Feb. I3, |900.

W.` H. FAUBEH.

BICYCLE CRANK SHAFT.

(Application filed Nov. 18, 1895.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

y ai fa-@flieg N0- 643,349. Patented Feb. I3, |900.

W. H. FAUBER. BICYCLE CRANK SHAFT.l

(N M d I) Appl t ldN 18 1895) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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TATES Finca.

.PATENT BICYCLE CRAN K-s HAFT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,349, dated February 13, 1900. Application filed November 18 18.95.` Serial No. 569 ,316. (No model.)

and I do hereby declare that the following is a* full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the crank-shafts of bicycles and ball-bearings therefor, and more especially to crankshafts of that kind shown in my prior patent, No.492,959, dated March '7, 1893, wherein the crank-shaft and itsarms are made in one piece or integral with each other and in which those parts of the shaft and crank-arm exterior to the bearings are made in all parts smaller in size than the diameter of the shaft at the place where the inner ring or cone of the bearing is secured thereto, so that the parts of the bearings may be removed from the shaft by passing them over the crankarm. In said prior patent the sleeve or hanger of said machine-frame is not a complete ring or anhelos, but is provided with a lateral opening for the insertion or removal of the shaft, and the shaft-bearings embrace stationary annular l parts which are detachably secured to the sleeve ends, so that when removed therefrom the shaft may be removed laterally through said opening in the hanger.

I propose to provide a crank-axle made integral with its crank-arms, as described, with an integral flange at one end and to make the inner bearing ring or cone of the bearing adjacent to the said flange larger in internal diameter than the ring or cone of the bearing remote from said flange and the screw-threaded parts of the axle on which said cones t of correspondingly different sizes, so that the bearings, as will be hereinafter set forth, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims. y

As shown in the accompanying drawings, Figu-re lis an axial section of a bearing-sleeve or hanger and bearings for a crank-shaft, showing the shaft itself and its integral arms in sideelevation. Fig. 2 is a side view of the shaft and arms removed from the bearings. Fig. 3 is a face View of one of the arms. Fig. 4 is a face view of the sprocket-wheel, showing the same attached to the shaft. Fig. 5 is an end view of the ball-casing removed from the crank-shaft, showing the balls and caging-ring in position therein. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a sleeve and a side elevation of the shaft and crank-arms and sprocket-wheel attached, illustrating the manner of inserting the crank-arm through the sleeve. Fig. 7 is a similar view showing a slightly-modified construction of the sleeve.

In said drawings, A designates a transverse tubular supporting-sleeve or hanger, which is secured in any desired manner to the framebars of the machine-as,for instance,by thimbles a of, made integral with the hanger. Said hanger is arranged generally in the same manner as are the similar hangers heretofore used on bicycle-frames to afford support for the bearings of the crank-shaft, which latter pass through the same.

B indicates the crank-shaft of the machine, having attached to its ends integral crankarms B B. Said crank-shaft is provided with two screw-threaded parts b o', adapted to afford attachment thereto of the inner bearing rings or conesvof ball-bearings. Said screwthreaded parts are made larger in diameter than adjacent parts of the crank-shaft, as shown. Said crank-shaft is also provided at one end with a ange b2 for the attachment of a sprocket-wheel, said flange in the instance illustrated being arranged in the same plane with the inner part of the adjacent crank-arm and being made continuous with or in the form of a flange upon the latter, as clearly shown in the drawings, Figs. 2 and 4. The screw-threaded part b' of the shaft,which is adjacent to the ange b2, is made somewhat larger in diameter than the screw-threaded part b, remote from said iange, to enable the bearing-ring which its on the part b to pass IOO over the part l), as will hereinafter more fully appear.

O indicates a sprocket-wheel, which in the instance illustrated consists of a rim C, having short inwardly-extending integral arms c and flat hub O, of annular form, which is riveted to the inner face of the flange b2 of the shaft, and spokes C2, which have the form of integralarms on the hub O aud to which the rim is connected by means of bolts c', passing through the outer ends of said arms and the inner ends of the arms c. The sprocketwheel in itself, however, is of familial' construction, and the details illustrated form no part of my invention.

Antifriction-roller bearings for both endsw of the shaft are provided, said bearings consisting of bearing-rings D D', which are detachably secured to the ends of the sleeve A and inner bearing rings or cones, which are mounted on the shaft and secured in position thereon by having screw'- threaded engagement with the screw-threaded parts b b of said shaft. Said rings D D and E E are provided with opposing annular bearing-surfaces, between which are located antifrict-ionballs e, as common in such bearings. As hereinbefore stated, the screw-threaded part b of the shaft is made larger than the part b thereof, so that the internal diameter of the ring E is greater than that of the ring E. As a consequence the said ring E may be slipped over or past the screw-threaded part b of the shaft and engaged with the inner screwthreaded part ZJ' in assembling the parts, it being of course understood that all parts. of the crank-arm outside of the screw-threaded part b are made smaller inv diameter than either of the rings E E', so that both rings may be readily slipped over the same in placing them upon the shaft. This construction, therefore,obviously enables both of said bearing rings or cones to be easily applied to the shaft, notwithstanding the presence of the integral sprocket-wheel flange b2 thereon.

The employment of the integral iange for attaching the sprocket-wheel to the shaft has several advantages. One of the advantages is that its use avoids the necessity of keying or otherwise securing the sprocket-wheel upon the shaft, as illustrated in said prior patent, thereby saving the additional length of shaft required outside of the bearing for the at tachment of the hub of the sprocket-wheel, With the result of enabling the shaft to be made shorter and the crank to be brought closer to the bearings, and thus affording the desirable features of a short crank-shaft with a maximum distance between the bearings, it being well understood that the placing of the crank-arms as close together as possible is desirable for comfort and convenience of the rider, While the separation of the bearings as Widely as possible is desirable in order to lessen the strain on the bearings and decrease the leverage of the shaft thereon. A further advantage gained by the employment of an integral flange located adjacent to the crankarm, as described, is that it enables the periphery of the sprocket-wheel to be located approximatelyin the same plane with the adjacent bearing, thereby bringing the heavy strain resulting from the tensions of the drivechain directly upon or in line with the bearing, with the result of avoiding the greater pressure on the bearings, which Would result if the chain acted on a plane outside of the bearing, so as to exert a leverage thereon. The exterior rings of the ball-bearings in this instance are secured to the sleeve Aby being inserted partially Within the same and engaging internal screw-threads on the sleeve,

said rings being extended beyond the sleeve` sufficiently to provide a hold for a Wrench or other implement used in inserting and removing the ring. In the particular construction illustrated the rings are providedwith flanges d d, which abut against the endsof the sleeves and are provided with spannerholes of, by which they may be turned. The extension of the ring D beyond the end of the sleeve in the manner described makes the same so deep that it may receive within it the inner ring cone E and the jam-nut e', by which the same is held in place, thus giving a smooth finish to the parts at the end of the sleeve opposite to that at which the sprocket- Wheel is located. At the sprocket-wheel end of the shaft the inner ring or cone E reaches approximately to the inner surface of the sprocket-Wheel hub C', as seen in Fig. l.

The screw-threads 011 the parts t Z9 of the shaft are oppositely directed, or, in other Words, are right and left hand threads, and the' screw-threaded joints by which the outer bearing-rings D D are secured in the hanger are similarly made right and left handed, while the screw-threads are in all cases so arranged that the turning of the shaft Will tend, in case one of the bearing-rings is held from turning (as by becoming caught by a broken ball or otherwise) and the shaft rofates therein, to carry the ring away from the balls instead of forcing it toward the same. This construction therefore avoids possibility of the bearing being injured or ruined by the forcing of the bearing-rings together, as is liable to occur in cases Where the screwthreads of both bearings are right or left hand ones when one of the rings becomes caught and held from turning at a time When the pedals are being driven with great speed and power'.

The operation of assembling the parts of the bearing constructed as above described is as follows: The sprocket-Wheel is permanently attached to the sprocket-wheel flange before the parts are assembled. Preparatory to inserting the axle Within the bearingsleeve the bearing-cone E is placed on the screw-threaded part b of the axle and the external ring D then slipped over the axle to a` point adjacent to the sprocket-Wheel, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. Commonly the bend IOO IZO

or elbow will be brought opposite one of the attaching-thimbles a, which latter will afford additional room for the passage of the same, as clearly seen in the drawings. After the axle has been inserted into the sleeve the ring D' is then screwed into the same, the ring D then passed over the axle-arm B' and screwed into the sleeve, and the cone E thereafter also slipped over the arm and screwed to the place upon the screw-thread b.

In Fig. 7 the hanger is shown as provided with notches a2 a2, which are cut slightly into its ends to facilitate the passage of the shaft and crank-arm. Such notches do not materially aeet the strength of the hanger or the security of the attachment of the bearingrings thereto,and a construction in which such notches are present therefore comes within the scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with a machine-frame and a transverse hanger, of a crank-shaft provided with crank-arms at its ends said shaft and crank-arms being made integral with each other, said crank-shaft being provided at one end with an integral flange for the attachment of a sprocket-Wheel, and bearings for the shaft comprising bearing rings or cones which are secured to the shaft said shaft having enlarged portions to receive said bearingcones of which the enlarged portion remote from the flange is made smaller in diameter than that nearest the flange to allow the passage over it of the bearing-ring located nearest the flange whereby the parts of both hearings maybe removed over the crank-arm remote from said flange.

2. The combination, with a machine-frame and a transverse tubular hanger attached to the frame, of a crank-shaft and crank-arm made integral with each other, said crankshaft being provided at one end with an integral flange for the attachment of a sprocketwheel, and ball-bearings for the shaft comprising inner rings or cones having screwthreaded engagement with the shaft, said shaft having screw-threaded portions to receive said bearing-cones, of which the one nearest the flange is larger in diameter 'than and screw-threaded oppositely to the one remote from the Iiange, and those parts of the shaft and crank-arms exterior to the smaller screw-threaded portion being made in all parts smaller in size than the diameter of said smaller screw-threaded part,wherebya1l members of both bearings may be removed over one crank-arm, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention` I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 16th day of lNovember, A. D. 1895.'

WILLIAM H. FAUBER.

Witnesses:

yTAYLOR E. BROWN, WILLIAM L. HALL. 

